July 17, 2014
07:09 am JST

Wow what a hot head, I could see a young person saying such stupid things over the internet but a 51 year old politician? How does he treat people he speaks with personally? It's probably better that he resigned anyway.

July 17, 2014
09:29 am JST

July 17, 2014
09:29 am JST

July 17, 2014
09:42 am JST

What happened with freedom of speech people cares so much about? And beside I'm pretty sure Ishihara said a lot more vile stuff on National TV and he didn't need to resign. Such double standard I always see in Japanese politics.

July 17, 2014
09:42 am JST

July 17, 2014
09:43 am JST

This guy is gone but every one of the representatives who heaped sexist abuse on Shiomura last month have not only kept their jobs but, for most of them, gotten away with it without even stepping forward to apologize?

July 17, 2014
09:46 am JST

July 17, 2014
09:54 am JST

Thanks to people like Kaneko for telling the LDP fascists what they need to hear. Recall that the US SCAP put the unrepenitent fascists back in power after a short period, who then proceeded to enlist the Yakuza to beat anti AMPO protestors. The reinterpretation of the constitution will have severe repercussions with Japanese kids perhaps drafted to fight and die again, this time of the side of the US.

The hypocrisy of the Japanese right is they always attacked the peace constitution because it was presumably imposed by the US. But now that the US is behind the revision, they suck up to the US. The US, which devastated Hiroshima and Nagazaki, now enabling Abe, who's wet dream was always to dismantle the postwar "peace" order. And now they have found the perfect scapegoat in NK and China. But this will only encourage NK and China to react more harshly and justify huge military expenditures.

Kaneko is right. This is what is behind his remarks. He may have lost his cool. But hundreds of thousands of Japanese progressives were persecuted and even executed for opposing Japanese militarism by Abe's grandfather and his cohorts.

And now, when John Mitchell in the Japan Tmes has uncovered Vietnam era Dioxin stored at Okinawa bases, dioxin which pkay a part in the 2-3 million deaths of Vietnames that Japan was complicit in by hosting the bases, well, we can only look forward to more such horrors if we allow democracy to be subverted by the likes of Abe.

July 17, 2014
10:26 am JST

They showed the twitter exchange on the news this morning. He did get trolled hard, by a rightwing supporter. The other guy was saying we should send the NEETs and hikikomoris and other scum out to go and kill/die for us. This guy responded by saying "before sending those 'scum' out to die, you should die first, you are the real 'scum', just go die already"

Not what you expect a assemblyman, but it was the result of being trolled.

July 17, 2014
10:53 am JST

A politician should know better, but it seems that Twitter can get the better of anyone. Glad to see that the JCP has higher standards than the LDP politicians, who regularly come out with worse, but don't bother to resign.

July 17, 2014
11:17 am JST

'Drop dead' is a figure of speech. Like 'Go eff yourself. (A little challenging to do literally--you know what I mean?) Of course, self-control is preferable, but. It is politics. It is the heat of the moment. Let all those who are throwing stones make sure they have not transgressed in like manner. (Or lack of...) Politics--the trough that it is--rarely attracts "nice" people. Yawn . . .

July 17, 2014
11:35 am JST

every one of the representatives who heaped sexist abuse on Shiomura last month have not only kept their jobs but, for most of them, gotten away with it without even stepping forward to apologize

This is exactly what I though upon first reading this story. That little cabal of asshats got away scot-free, and this guy is asked to step down because he told a particularly myopic and obnoxious constituent to drop dead? Sure, not very neighborly of him. But then again, there seems to be a rash of un-neighborly behavior going on at all levels of Japanese government.

Sigh…. Japanese politics bring the word "broken" to a whole new level of meaning.

July 17, 2014
11:43 am JST

July 17, 2014
11:56 am JST

"Drop dead" may not sound that harsh but there is a lot of cultural difference in what is considered offensive. The imperative of the Japanese Shinu, to die is probably the second the most thing one can say in Japanese.

July 17, 2014
12:32 pm JST

Drop dead. Translated from koroshite yaru? or Shinde shimae? or.... Human scum? Hito kuzu? Extremely insulting in Japanese language. But maybe as tame as Drop Dead of human scum. Come to think, English words of insultings are tamer than Japanese words.

July 17, 2014
12:56 pm JST

July 17, 2014
01:23 pm JST

”死ね” ("Die!") is some pretty strong language in Japanese. I'm trying to think of an equivalent saying in English, but most of them are too foul and/or harsh to meet the terms of agreement for JT. I think the closest approximation would be along the lines of, "The world would be better off if you had never been born." A more memorable permutation of this type of insult is Alan Shore's farewell message to opposing counsel,"Maybe someday you'll get horribly sick and die."

Harsh, yes, but also rather juvenile. The use of "Shine" is more of an issue related to bullying in Japanese public schools than it is among supposedly mature adults. To use it as an adult suggests a loss of self-control. But then again, the person he insulted did suggest that Japan's unemployed youth be used to the fill the ranks of Abe's new offensive capability-enabled SDF, much like the U.S. armed forces did with its poor and minorities during the Vietnam War. I might have lost it with such an idiot myself.

July 17, 2014
02:14 pm JST

I think this politician is just VERBALIZING what we all really think about the young, lazy new generation of parasite Japanese youths who do not feel like working, studying etc..and just spend their lives locked up in their rooms until they die or cause other problems for their parents etc...

July 17, 2014
02:27 pm JST

El, they are that way because of their parents and the system. Sorry but the LAST people I wannt defending this country are the folks you mentioned. Frankly, I'd love to see Abe, Ishihara, Hashimoto... put their mouths were their money is, step up and serve - that or their kids. Though I guess with Abe he doesn't have any - and yet, no one asks him when he's going to have a kid...

July 17, 2014
06:36 pm JST

As some of the later posters have mentioned, this word is a giant NO-NO, very near top of the list of non-pc words in Japan and carries huge emotional baggage.

Absolutely forbidden throughout the education system

It may "seem" to be forbidden throughout the education system but our elder boy had to put up being told that in his Japanese school - ending up with a broken arm. The younger one went to an International school and the "worst thing" he ever experienced was a Philippina cleaning woman who saw him eating "ramen" and said "Oh ! He's eating worms...!"

As for the politician, he is perfectly right ! Before sending off young Japanese to die, Abe should go himself...

July 17, 2014
09:17 pm JST

I am not defending anything for a minute. Just watching JT readers above poo-pooing the word, I struggled to explain how some people in Japan genuinely see it. Got two minus points for my effort.

Actually kids use it all the time, but if you get caught they make a big song and dance about it. Just keep your voice down and make sure the class bullying target hears it.

When my daughter went to nursery school here she came back after the first day and said what sounded like "Shinnay!", the very first time she had ever mentioned the word death in our household. That dying, (removing yourself from the gene pool) is one option, a way of improving society, is part of the Japanese mental environment I have no doubt.

July 17, 2014
09:55 pm JST

In feudal time, "Shine" was yelled by executioners before a prinsoner execution of "Uchikubi" (death by hehading (not seppuku: is performed. Then heads were displayed at designated area called "Sarashiba".

After feudal eras,

At brutal yakuza wars, they yelled "Shine": when fighting with their katanas.

Kishi was attacked by right wing at airport. Right wing yelled Shine,

Asanuma was already killed, then, Right wing yelled Sjine before they killed Asanuma.

July 18, 2014
04:02 am JST

July 18, 2014
10:26 am JST

tmarieJul. 17, 2014 - 02:11PM JST
Those are the biggest nut jobs.
Actually, they are one of the only parties that is actually making sense in this country at the moment - a frightening thought I know but the truth.